This Arsenal player has had an underwhelming campaign so far by his standards
With club football now being on a hold till after this set of international fixtures, it will not only give Mikel Arteta and the backroom staff a breather after a hectic few weeks, it will also give them the perfect opportunity to assess the squad and plan for the tough run of fixtures in November as well. This break will also give the gooners a chance to have a closer look at how our players have fared so far this season.
When looking at our squad, one player who has performed a tad below expectation this season would be Declan Rice. This might be in part due to the exceptional form he showed last season especially in the second half of the campaign where he had a lot of goal contributions when pushed higher up the pitch as our left 8.
So if it’s due to his exceptional form last season, does it mean that we fans might be expecting too much or has his level dropped from the previous campaign?
Looking at purely the statistics, the answer is yes given he has failed to register a single goal contribution so far this campaign, despite being on set piece duties for most of the time and still playing in the advanced 8 role for us. Also the red card against Brighton also adds to how underwhelming his campaign has been so far, even though he missed just a game because of it.
It’s not that he’s dropping stinkers or anything but I expected to see more from the England international in the form of goal contributions or consistent chance creation.
We all know what we’ll get with Rice in the team, the insane work rate, his physical presence in the midfield and much more which we haven’t got to see all of in this campaign so far and that is the main reason why I think he has underperformed a bit in this campaign so far (in my opinion)
With this in mind would now be the time we revert him back to defensive midfield role and play Merino as the left 8 instead? Let me know gooners!
KENNETH BENJAMIN.
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He’s been very decent, make no mistake. But if we are comparing him to what he was like last season, then yes he has not been up to that standard.
I’ve not found him to he disappointing at all. He’s not always spectacular but he’s a crucial part of the spine of the team and holds everything together. I think the way calafiori plays has affected his role slightly so he’s taken more of a back seat in some games, and in the first couple of matches I think he was feeling the effects of a long prior season, but he seems fine now.
I’ve actually been quite impressed with some of his passing tbh.
DRice is doing more defensive work now and not industrious like last season because Calafiori is a ball carrying Left back who drifts into the midfield at will. Calafiori has made Matinelli more active at the Left wing so Rice would be occasionally be a box to box middielder. But I think he would return to No6 once Merino is fully integrated into the team. Merino as a left footed player would do better in GXhaka role than Rice.
He’s not disappointing at all. He’s just been asked to play a different role to the ones he played last season. He looks more peripheral because that’s what he’s been asked to do.
That said,in the last couple of matches, he’s been playing deeper and getting more touches and passes.
With Calafiori marauding forward,Rice sometimes occupies that left back/left midfield area and switching long passes to Saka. This is exactly what he used to do at West Ham with Bowen. Other times he slots between the Centre Backs to help with ball progression.
With Merino and Calafiori properly integrated,I think we’ll see Rice doing more of what he did last season. The things he’s actually world class at.
He’s doing an exceptional job, he’s winning the ball, duels and recycling the ball at a high rate.
He’s one of are most consistent players.
This Season He’s been playing other positions, so you cam expect him to being less effective than his normal position
Play him as a DM where he is world class, only behind Rodri.
As an 8, he is not exceptional or world class; productive and good, but not world class like he is as a DM.
may be a slow start to the season, particularly compared to how strongly he finished last season
i think others are right to point out in Odegaard absence the whole has changed tactically to be much more defensive, the like of Rice, Havertz, Saka and Martinelli effectively playing as defenders for large parts of several games with Arteta showing almost zero attacking intent
that is bound to impact stats and perceived performance levels, but Rice and the rest of the team have done an excellent job carrying out Arteta’s plans to get us through this patch undefeated
During the past two seasons, he has hardly missed a game for Club and Country and as a consequence I think he was very close to bring in the “red zone”, when he went to the Euros.With little in the way of a break, the fact that he does not seem to be as sharp as he was last season does not surprise me in the slightest.Like others on JA, I prefer him in the central DM role, and perhaps Arteta will play him there when Merino beds in and Odegaard returns.
Given he cost £100m+ he has a very high bar to reach on a regular basis, hasn’t he. Like others I don’t think he’s been as good overall this season than last, although it’s still early days yet.
We’ll get a better idea with more games played and when Odegaard returns to the first-choice team.
I prefer Rice at 6 where he shines best, and the defense is better protected. He is OK at 8 but not the greatest. I think he has been fine this season without being eye catching. Once everyone is fit I expect Merino to play the left sided 8 with Rice at 6.